by Frank Hitchens

The Encyclopedia of Aerodynamics was written for pilots at all levels from private pilot to airline pilot, military pilots and students of aerodynamics as a complete reference manual to aerodynamic terminology. General aerodynamic text books for pilots are relatively limited in their scope while aerodynamic text books for engineering students involve complex calculus. The references in this book, The Encyclopedia of Aerodynamics, are clearly described and only basic algebra is used in a few references but is completely devoid of any calculus – an advantage to many readers. Over 1400 references are included with alternative terms used where appropriate and cross-referenced throughout. The text is illustrated with 178 photographs and 96 diagrams. The Encyclopedia of Aerodynamics is an ideal aerodynamic reference manual for any pilot’s bookshelf.

About the Author

Frank Hitchens was born in Birmingham, England. At the age of seventeen years he joined the British Merchant Navy as a ship’s steward and travelled the world. He settled in New Zealand in 1965 and worked on the Inter Island ferries between Wellington and Lyttleton. While working on these ferries he joined the Wellington Aero Club and gained his Private Pilot Licence within six months of learning to fly and later, his Commercial Licence. He flew charter flights and joy rides for the club and enjoyed the challenges of cross-country flying and air navigation around New Zealand. He flew mostly single-engine light aircraft, including a flight in a rag-wing microlight and a few hours in a Boeing 737-800 flight simulator. Marriage to his wife Deirdre in 1981 brought an end to his active flying. However, his love for aircraft and flying never waned. He continued his passion in the form of photographing planes and later, his technical interest in aeronautical subjects turned to writing. He has written several aviation magazine articles published in New Zealand and also two books, Range & Endurance - Fuel-Efficient Flying in Light Aircraft published by Airlife/Crowood Press in 2007. This was followed by Formulas for the E6-B Air Navigation Computer, published by Andrews United Kingdom (AUK), which was written for the pilot aiming to obtain a Private, Commercial or Airline Transport Pilot Licence. The book includes a collection of 122 formulas and tables for solving navigation problems on the E6-B. This is now followed by The Encyclopedia of Aerodynamics.